Tag: blogging

6th term, week 3 ⚓️✌🏻

15th till 20th of February 2022

Hello, third week onboard!!! Wow, the past two weeks literally went so fast I cannot believe it! Sometimes I have to remind myself when I arrived and count backwards. For example, how many Sundays did we have since I am onboard…. You know not to forget how fast it is going. I have the feeling I just arrived yet it has been 1/3 of my term already! Am I repeating exactly what I said at the end of my previous post? Naaaaah just normal here.

Anyways. We were loaded with Paper rolls from Hamina (Finland) to Terneuzen (Netherlands). We spent our Sunday on the Kiel Channel with good weather and visibility and we were heading out on the North Sea where we were expecting some heavy weather…. The German Bight in heavy weather is never really nice. Because of the strong currents on the Elbe river, depending on where the winds are coming from some of the tides can be very nasty and choppy. I remember having some hard times when I was on sailing vessels.

That is actually a funny thing. I sometimes really miss the sailing vessels but I also once in a while remember how tough it could be on the body: the waves, the choppiness, the cold, the rain… Of course, it was not always like that. But it could be. Here the bridge iOS always nice and warm and there is seldom a reason to go outside. In bad weather.

Anyways. We were ready for the bad weather, and we also knew that with this cargo we had to slow down in case of big waves so that we would not damage it. And that is actually what we did …. We just took it easy and then the trip was not that bad in the end… We were not in a hurry for once. I like it when we take it easy for the cargo… I feel like cargo. We should sometimes take it easier so that I am also not moving around the ship like in a washing machine! Haha

We went through the locks in Terneuzen on Tuesday morning and beginning of the afternoon we quickly opened the hatches to get ready and take all the airbags out to be ready for discharging as soon as possible. They were announcing rain again in the afternoon and the coming days. I wanted to make sure that all the airbags were out so that I would not be bothered to stop discharging to handle airbags. The thing is that our cargo hold was full full and full. No ullage in half of the forward hold, and 50 cm only in the second half so we could not take the airbags out with hatches closed this time. We had to lift them to access the areas. It was not a problem but we had to be fast.

Taking out the airbags from between the paper rolls; Ruyter moored alongside in Terneuzen.
Taking out the airbags from between the paper rolls; Ruyter moored alongside in Terneuzen.

And then they started discharging for a couple of hours. Less even. But at least it was a start. The whole time there was always one officer standing by close to the crane, no matter what, so that with the first drop we would immediately close. We also did only three hatches at the time. With a grab, it is not so much of a problem because with good communication with the crane driver and the foreman you can run the hatch crane around and prepare the next hatches movements when necessary. When it is a belt of bulk cargo, it is not that easy because when you say « stop » it still needs to empty the belt…. And that can be tricky in the case of rain as it can sometimes take 5 minutes too. Or with that type of cargo, you cannot drive the crane as you want because they have to move it out of the way which is the same as stopping…. It is all about thinking ahead and anticipating the next move.

Chief officer Sophie read on the hatch crane to close the hatches in case of rain during discharging
Chief officer Sophie read on the hatch crane to close the hatches in case of rain during discharging

In Hamina the paper rolls were put in the hold two by two. Here they were taken out one by one and stored on a sort of rolling platform. Once that platform was full, it was taken to a shed somewhere further in the harbour. While being stand-by during discharging, I was also noting if there was any damage made to the cargo. The good thing is that in the cargo there was none. But then some minor damage was made by the crane when taking it out of the hold. Well, no damage on our side then. That was good. I must say that I was a bit nervous remember with the lashing when leaving Hamina? Because it was the first time I had such a cargo and people kept repeating that it was an expensive and very very sensitive cargo…. Well now I know so it is fine 😉

Discharging the paper rolls by a yellow crane in a cloudy Terneuzen
Discharging the paper rolls by a yellow crane in a cloudy Terneuzen

It seems that it took us for ages to discharge because of the rain but also because all the shore shifts were not honoured. It seems that they do not have enough labour people for all the work that needs to be done so sometimes we could have been discharged but there was no shift. One evening the shift was there but it was raining the whole evening so we had our trainee and our new engineer standing by to open hatches in case it stopped. But of course, it did not. What I find a pity is that when you see that it will be raining the whole evening why not just say to everyone that we do not discharge and report everything the next morning so that we can all get a good night’s sleep and not wait for nothing. But of course, that also doesn’t happen. The second evening, they were not even sure whether to come to our ship because they had a river ship or a liner and these had priority on us. So we were just being standby in case they open. And guess what, they did not come! It can be quite frustrating sometimes because you would want to have a drink and go to bed early for example and just call it a day, but it is not the case. Seaman’s life right?

It took us three days to discharge!

Motor vessel Ruyter moored starboard alongside in Terneuzen, in ballast
Motor vessel Ruyter moored starboard alongside in Terneuzen, in ballast

And finally, we could sail during the night through the locks to Vlissingen. Just a short two-hour sail, when everything goes well. BUT! Of course, the locks schedule changed last minute and we were postponed two hours…. It was quite a long night for some. Luckily for me, I worked till completion of discharging and made the ship ready for departing and the locks and I would wake up early upon arrival to get the paper for the tank top for our next cargo. The others working at night would be able to sleep in the next morning to catch up on some rest.

The next cargo was wood pulp from Vlissingen ( Netherlands) to Norrsundet ( Sweden). Again a nice cargo. I hope we will keep on having such nice cargo 🙂 They are easy and nice, not dirty and fast to load and discharge. Very nice.

We prepared the tank top by putting layers of paper with tape here and there to fix it. I had left a few timber pieces that we used to prevent the winds from wrapping the paper off. But it did not work at all.

As soon I opened the hatch the wind blew in and all our work was gone.

First cargo in the hold in Vlissingen, wood pulp loaded by crane
First cargo in the hold in Vlissingen, wood pulp loaded by crane

Why do we have to prepare the paper ahead and not do it like in Scandinavian countries just unroll as it goes? That way, the wind cannot blow it away. Luckily the foreman took pictures of how the nice part was so that there would not be any problem. What do you want to do anyways when it is blowing over 40knots of wind in the harbour…. Our tank top is clean anyways. It is just that it is not painted so we need to put some protection between the steel and the cargo.

The cargo hold is ready with all the paper laid out on the tanktop
The cargo hold is ready with all the paper laid out on the tanktop

It also took us a lot of time to load only 2000t of wood pulp. Because of some rain but also because of the huge storm that we were in. They actually stopped all port and cargo operations for a whole afternoon and evening. And the next day that had two teams for 5 vessels….. 

When we started loading we had a small crane that was loading the wood pulp two by two packages. And the last day we had the big crane that was loading 8 or 10 packages at the time! So of course in 1 hour and a half, we completed it. Finally!

Crazy to think of the different times spent loading with a small crane, but more precise and tighter loading, compared to the big crane which was way faster but not as tight. We had to put way more airbags in the aft than forward!

It was still very stormy outside. We had registered over 60knots of wind in the harbour the afternoon that they stopped the operations. When we left the harbour there was a little less wind which was perfect timing before it would start blowing hard again. We had 3 to 4 hours of rolling along the coast and then once we were en route, we were surfing the waves, it was perfect. It was not bad at all. It is amazing the difference the wind direction can make to the movements of a ship. I prefer from the stern. Of course. It would have been a totally different situation if the wind were coming from the North. We would have probably stayed in the harbour a couple of days extra. Who knows.

Alongside in Vlissingen with more than 60knts of wind; all cargo and port operations are stopped.
Alongside in Vlissingen with more than 60knts of wind; all cargo and port operations are stopped.

It was nice to be back at sea again for a bit. In 36 hours we were arriving in the locks in Brunsbuttel after a lovely Sunday at sea. Cookie even made carrot cake for me. I say for me because I am the only one requesting cake flavours for Sundays… but I am not the only one eating it! 😉

Monday morning we will be sailing out of the Kiel Channel…. Let’s see what type of weather we will have on the other side, in the Baltic!

Till then…. Have a good rest!

Xxx

Sophie

6th term, week 2 ⚓️✌🏻

7th till 14th of February 2022

Ok so here we are in Inkoo. We were lucky enough to have a nice Sunday in the harbour and enjoyed an ice-cold swim and a long walk in the snow. And then, of course, Monday mornings are always a tough call…. Especially in Finland where I have to wake up one hour earlier because of the time difference…. As the stevedores start at 6 am their time, it is 5 am for me; which means I need to be ready, hatches open etc by that time… and because we are in winter and there could be ice, snow, frozen and slippery rails etc, I always tend to give myself a quarter of an hour extra to not have stress and be late. So there I was alone, on the bridge and deck with a pitch dark surrounding and only a few lights on the ship and quay…. It to them quite some time to prepare the crane, the quayside ( taking away snow and adding salt or small stones …) have forklifts ready etc….It took them probably one hour before they started discharging.

In these scenarios, I am always a bit upset thinking I could have slept longer, but in the end better this way than being late and not ready. It gave me time to have a look at emails and do a bit of paperwork in the calm. And with a cup of coffee! 😉 

Besides, as soon as the sun is rising then I am never upset anymore. The more North you go, the most beautiful colours you see. I very much enjoy these moments where indeed nobody is around and the world is waking up slowly. Sunrises in Finland are full of pink and purple skies. It is marvellous. And in these moments I take the time to enjoy. And ok add those 10-20 photos on my camera roll: all the same but with a different point of view – just in case, and to use on my social media later …maybe.

Finally, they were ready and started discharging the ship from the plasterboards loaded in Delfzijl.

Apparently, the stevedores in the Finnish harbours were on strike movement for having more breaks during their working days. So it seemed to me that as soon as they started working they took a half-hour break and the morning went so slowly. And from one break to another it took them two full days to discharge the hold. 

Anyways. There was nothing really we could do about it. I took advantage of the fact that it was slow and not too cold to do some things on deck: safety checks, a bit of greasing and just being around. 

In the evening Captain H. did a crazy challenge. He wanted to prove to himself that he could stay 15 minutes in the ice-cold water! So there we went outside before dinner with L. the engineer and myself to check out on him and talk with him while he was in the water. He managed ) of course as he would say- but for sure as much as I enjoy the cold showers every day and once in a while swimming in the ice cold water, 15 minutes is definitely too long. But he manages and that was pretty cool. He came to the bridge after his shower as he was slightly shivering to ask me for a warm drink. I remember he came barefoot and his hair still damp from the shower. The first thing I did was to get him his favourite woollen socks he keeps on talking about and his merino wool beanie. Shivering is a normal reaction after such an experience: the body is working hard to heat up again. There is a lot of breathing involved and mind control. But never forget the basics that heat escape from the extremities and the head…. He was fine do not worry. But also never do this experiment at home or on your own! It was fun but I am also glad he is trained with breathing and very cold showers daily and regular ice baths. It does make a difference!

The next day we departed in the evening for Hamina which was only a short 12-hour -ish sail. So we were back into sea watches and the ABs would be cleaning and sweeping the tank top in the hold underway so that it would be ready for the next morning. We would be loading paper rolls to Terneuzen.

My first paper rolls cargo! I have heard so much about it. That it is a great cargo to transport, very expensive but also very fragile: no smell, very weather sensitive so as soon as there is one drop the hatches must close. Upon arrival the weather was clear and I opened fully all the hatches. The stevedores prepared timber for on the tank top on which the rolls would be stacked on. Two by two they were positioned in the hold. It takes quite some volume compared to the weight. With 2100t the hold was pretty much full. But of course, the rolls are cylinders so there is also a loss of space in between them…

We had mainly three tiers and they fitted perfectly underneath the hatches. When I say perfectly, we did not have more than 5 cm spare there which was perfect!

With paper rolls you need to make sure there is absolutely no damage at all on the cargo: no water or snow, no tears in the wrapping and definitely not see paper through the wrapping. As I said earlier it is a very expensive cargo and we cannot have any damage to it. Eventually, stevedores can tape up some wrapping here and there; but it is not ideal. There was one roll in the end that I did not accept as there was a tear in the wrapping and therefore in the paper too behind.

I was a bit nervous loading as I found myself a little bit alone to load the cargo. The loading was not a problem but the weather was to my eyes and I was not sure about how the lashing would be in the end and if we would have enough airbags to stow it correctly. 

The thing is that we were getting a new engineer onboard and Captain H. Was busy with him and paperwork so he did not have time to come and check on deck. I had to rely on myself and somehow trust the stevedores who of course do this every day for years already so they are quite experienced of course. But you know, you always get told that it is the ship that decides and not the foreman…. And there was the snow that was announced for 20:00 LT that arrived a fair bit earlier so I was constantly checking around and in the sky for any sign of a snowflake. We probably had only 2 hours left of loading so it was a pity to stop earlier. But then we would have still needed to lash and put airbags everywhere so, in the end, it was not too bad that the snow arrived earlier. It is easier during day time. Besides, we still needed to bunker for which we had to shift berth so, in the end, it was all fine.

The next morning it was dry and we completed the loading and lashing. Shifted berth, bunkered water and as soon as the pilot was onboard we sailed out following the icebreaker.

It was cool to see some ice around again… I had missed it the previous morning upon arrival in Hamina. It reminded me of last year when we went walking over the ice to the city. That was really cool. Now the icebreaker was in front of us. The wind had pushed the ice in some areas making it thicker and more compact therefore more difficult for us to sail through. The good thing is that behind the icebreaker you make better speed because you follow his open track before it closes again!

Then we had a couple of days sailing in the Baltic to join the Kiel Channel again and reach the North Sea where we were expected to have a lot of wind. Difficult with such cargo to have a lot of wind and rock and roll everywhere. That would totally damage the cargo. We had to slow down if that were the case and adjust our course if necessary. Sailing in the Baltic was actually not too bad. Especially in these times of the year when there is ice, all the vessels that are not ice class are not sailing there so it is quite calm and not busy at all. But of course, as soon as you pass near the sound and approach Kiel it is busier and busier. And that Sunday when we passed Kiel Channel we had to wait quite a few times to let so bigger and less manoeuvrable ships pass. The channel was busy. I did most of it actually because we entered slightly before noon and as my watch is from noon to 18:00 during the day, I had a big part of it. It is fine. The first pilot was quite chatty and nice but he did not steer so I did a small part of it until Captain H. Wanted our new engineer to practice steering with Ruyter too and he then took over from me. The second pilot was less chatty and wanted to steer himself.

It is always the big question on the Kiel Channel… « are we going to be steering or not? » Normally the pilot should not be steering. The crew should. But I guess some enjoy doing it or just find it easier rather be checking always what the helmsman is doing…. Sometimes I like steering, sometimes I have some things to do and find it a great opportunity to be more concentrated on the computer and do some administration for a while…. This time was nice. I did a bit of both 😉

It was a good Sunday and a good week! And just like that, it was already 2 weeks gone, which is one-quarter of my term! Impressive how fast it goes! I better get myself a to-do list of all the things I would like to have done before I leave otherwise it will all be last minute…. I am not so much a fanatic of the last minute! 😉

Anyways…. Thanks for reading once again! Next week we will see if our cargo is still in shape 😉

Xxx

5th term, week 10 🌊❤️

29th of November- till departure!

So Nope… we did not make it to The Netherlands before the weekend as you can see…. But just after! We passed by Vlissingen on Monday afternoon and headed to the locks in Terneuzen where we had to wait quite a long time for our turn as there was congestion again. Those locks are terrible… I do not know why we always have to wait so long… I mean there are a lot of ships coming in and out of course, and it is the big lock so fits something like 6 vessels our size together with river ships, and of course, vessels go in and out so it is a constant back and forth. The moment you miss a schedule in the lock you have to wait your turn for two hours. And the thing is that is it always a bit rainy or very rainy weather there!. This time the skies were not so promising and were very dark but surrounded by rays of sunshine. It was quite pretty to look at because it was enhancing all the colours around.

Pilot boat alongside in front of Vlissingen

We tried to make it a fine time on the foredeck with S. Our Trainee and B. An AB that was going home a few weeks after I would. And of course, with deckhands, we never know if they come back on board or how the rotation will be or not. We try to make a fun time on deck for good memories. I always believe that if you are not happy to do something it shows also in your work and your surroundings. But if you say « oh well, we can still make it a fun time ! » then things become lighter and nicer too. Have you ever tried it?

Team deck! Happy, ready and present for all tasks!

I am still trying sometimes. I must admit that it does not always come naturally. There is something I do not like to do of course. Like, be in the rain or the middle of the night doing work alone…. But it can also be just like cleaning windows inside you know? So I am not perfect. There I said it. Sometimes I do have to work hard on myself to make that shift in my head to make moments a nice one. I guess it is normal. Some weeks are easier than others for that. For sure it is just a different perspective. But it is simply thinking like « oh cool that is new, let’s do this » and just saying yes to everything that needs to be done, and just doing it with a smile and a positive attitude. I know I know..; easy to say, right? But not always easy to do… that is all about life. I guess. Again, I am just a Sophie and I do not know much.

Anyways. We were moored in Terneuzen. And cargo operations would only start… later. We did not know when yet when we would start discharging. I was planned for a flight in a couple of days too. A date for filching home! Nice! 🙂

Ruyter alongside in Terneuzen

At least it gave me some time to prepare the cabin for my reliever: a little bit every day so that I would not be last minute. I hate to be last minute. Of course, there are always working clothes etc to put away before I leave, which is sometimes tricky because I like to store then clean of course but when I am still outside doing cargo operations and all well…

Anyhow. We started discharging on the 1st in the morning. It was still rainy and windy. A barge came alongside us and the grab on shore was picking the sand from our vessel to put in the barge. I wonder where they were going after us… And I wonder what the sand would be used for. It was really thin. Probably to make glass? It could be.

Discharging the sand in Terneuzen, from one vessel to another

The grab was quite a big one and the discharge was very fast. I think in 6 hours more or less the hold was empty and we came sweeping for the last bits here and there for completion.

Our next port of call was Amsterdam, where I was supposed to sign off and just hop into a train to Schiphol… But of course, you can imagine that because we had a delay in discharge, we also had a delay in arriving in Amsterdam…. So my flight was rescheduled. Even three times: a new day, new flight details. Luckily this is all arranged by the office and with seamen’s tickets, it is not a problem to change last minute.

How many mooring lines do you count on the ship astern of us?

There was a loooot of wind outside in the North Sea. And even though we were not sailing far (nothing is far in the Netherlands) it was not a nice trip at all to go with 40 knots of wind in the nose in the North Sea in ballast conditions. The winds would decrease later though… and maybe we could find a gap to be as short as possible out at sea. We also had a timer going on. Not only for my flight but also for loading in Amsterdam and receiving provisions.

The next day we had an early morning wake-up to get the gangways onboard and prepare for the locks. Captain H. Had decided we would not directly go to sea because it was not so safe and not comfortable for anyone. Very necessary. But we could not be delayed any further so he decided we would go through the inshore waters via Rotterdam and then, as the wind was decreased a lot, we would only have a small few hours at sea before entering the Channel in Ijmuiden leading us to Amsterdam.

I was relieved about that because I think over this whole term we had so much bad weather with so much wind and heavy seas that it was just tiring just thinking of it. And you know as I was saying earlier to try to stay positive in every situation to make it better, well…. yes. This had limits. Last days at sea and a horrible heavy wether day. So when he said we would go through inshore water, throw the rivers and 5 locks all day long, well I thought it was pretty cool!

Looking at the heavy weather waiting for us in the locks in Terneuzen
Happy chief officer in the first lock of the voyage to Amsterdam… still 5 to go!
Passing so many narrow bridges on our way to Amsterdam via the inland traffic

I had never done it. And I know it would be a long day for us, but even more for him as he had to stay on the bridge navigating and manoeuvring all the time. Although I do know he loves it, it is still nonetheless a long day for him too. I tried to make it a great day and make each lock a happy moment lock and every time, then back to the bridge, enjoyed every moment and supported the captain bringing him coffee etc. Well you know, the funny thing was that every time we wherein the fore deck for being in the locks it started raining! And overtimes we were on the bridge it was dry and sunny! Yep! But it did not matter. It was way better than if we had been at sea. It took us probably way longer than expected because for a couple of locks we had to wait for our turn or for the bridge to open ( yes we are not a river ship so we cannot go below bridges…. I mean not those. 😉 ) But in the end, it did not matter: it was better than the heavy weather.

On our way to Amsterdam via Dordrecht and Rotterdam

We had 4 hours only out at sea and the winds were better. It was not too bad at all. And we arrived early morning in Amsterdam. Pretty cool actually! I love that city!

And there I was, my last half-day onboard leaving the ship from Amsterdam from a small taxi boast to bring me ashore then a taxi to immigration then the airport!

There I was almost 10 weeks onboard and going home for two months!

Happy and sad always to leave the ship. It is a nice feeling to go home because I like to see my family, have sleep-ins and not work you know…. Like in having a few days off, you know. But then I am always leaving nice people behind that I shall miss and maybe never see again. There is a time for everything. I had a lot of things waiting for me back home and especially quite some sailboats to sew to be sent before Christmas and some time in the Navy to do too! And of course, lots of happy moments to be looking forward to with Christmas, new year’s eve and friends and family visiting!

Ruyter moored in Amsterdam, ready to load whilst I leave the vessel and wave back to captain H.
Fair well my Friends! see you two months!

Anyways! I wish you lovely holidays and I cannot wait to see you soon in February! 2 months is nothing right?

Cheerios!!! Sophie

XXX